Simplicillium puwenense Hong Yu bis, Y. L. Lu & Jing Zhao 2025, sp. nov.

Simplicillium puwenense Hong Yu bis, Y. L. Lu & Jing Zhao sp. nov. Fig. 7 Etymology. Named after the location Puwen Town where the pattern material was collected. Holotype. China • Yunnan Province, Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, Jinghong City, Puwen Town. Specimens were collected from an evergreen broad-leaved forest, alt. 1,062 m, 100°58'60"E, 22°31'20"N, 13 December 2023, Hong Yu (holotype: YHH SP 2312001, ex-type living culture: YFCC 23129490). Description. Sexual morph. Not found. Asexual morph. Colonies on PDA medium moderate growth, diameter of 32–35 mm at 25°C for 14 days, convex in middle surface, white fluffy to cotton like, dense, octahedral crystals absent, reverse brown to light brown with radial emission grooves. Hyphae septate, branched, transparent, with a diameter of 0.67–1.76 µm and smooth-walled. Cultures readily produced phialides and conidia after 14 days on PDA medium at room temperature. Phialides arising were slender, solitary, rod-shaped or columnar, measuring 3.37–52.57 µm in length and 0.5–1.6 µm in width. Conidia, transparent, single celled, smooth-walled, elliptical or oval or cylindrical, 1.19–2.41 × 0.88–1.6 µm. The conidia aggregated into a spherical shape at the top of the phialides, with a size of approximately 3.59–6.59 × 2.6–6.7 µm. Host. Spider. Distribution. China, Yunnan Province. Additional material examined. China • Yunnan Province, Honghe Hani and Yi autonomous prefecture, the Xilong Mountains. Specimens were collected from an evergreen broad-leaved forest, alt. 1,715 m, 102°32'48"E, 22°45'20"N, 1 June 2023, Jing Zhao (paratype: YHH SP 2306001, ex-paratype living culture: YFCC 23069492); • Puwen Town, collected from an evergreen broad-leaved forest, alt. 1,019 m, 100°58'42"E, 22°31'10"N, 4 August 2023, Hong Yu (Specimen number: YHH SP 2308001, Strain number: YFCC 23089322). Remarks. Phylogenetically, three samples of S. puwenense were grouped together on a single branch, forming a monophyletic clade. It was identified as the sister species to S. formicae, supported by robust statistical evidence from both the Bayesian inference (BPP = 1) and the maximum likelihood analysis (BP = 100 %). Both S. puwenense and S. formicae exhibited a stable topological structure with BP and BPP values of 100 %. Morphologically, the surface of S. puwenense appeared centrally convex and exhibited a white, fluffy or cotton-like texture with densely arranged radial emission grooves ranging from reverse brown to light brown. Additionally, the conidia were observed to aggregate into spherical clusters at the apex of phialides (Table 2).